The Red Hot Chili Peppers (album)
| The Red Hot Chili Peppers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Red Hot Chili Peppers | ||||
| Released | August 10, 1984 | |||
| Recorded | April 1984 at Eldorado Studios in Hollywood, California | |||
| Genre | Funk rock, rap rock | |||
| Length |
32:32 46:01 (2003 remaster) | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Label | EMI Records | |||
| Producer | Andy Gill | |||
| Red Hot Chili Peppers chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Red Hot Chili Peppers | ||||
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The Red Hot Chili Peppers is the debut studio album by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on August 10, 1984 on EMI Records. The album was produced by Gang of Four guitarist Andy Gill, and is the only album to feature Jack Sherman on guitar who was fired by the band at the end of the tour in support of the album and replaced by founding member, Hillel Slovak.
Critical and commercial response
The Red Hot Chili Peppers was released with the band disappointed in the production. It failed to chart on the Billboard 200, reaching #201 (meaning it "bubbled under" the main album chart for 8 weeks in the autumn of 1984). The album received college airplay and MTV rotation, and built the band's fan base. The reviews that were published of the album were mixed, with the first issue of Spin magazine giving, according to Anthony Kiedis in his autobiography Scar Tissue, a positive review.[1] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic gave the album a negative review,[2] and stated that "their first effort didn't quite gel into a cohesive album," giving the album only 2½ stars out of 5. As of 2007, it had sold about 300,000 copies worldwide.[3] Kiedis and Flea have mentioned over the years that they prefer the demo versions of most of these songs which were recorded with the original lineup featuring Hillel Slovak and Jack Irons. However, the band acknowledged in various books that Jack Sherman's contributions to the band, particularly his knowledge of funk music and music theory, were things that helped the band's development, which they hadn't had with Hillel.
Gwen Dickey, better known by her stage name, Rose Norwalt, provides backing vocals on "Mommy, Where's Daddy?". Dickey was the singer for the 70's hitmaking group, Rose Royce.
As of 2014, songs from the album have rarely been performed over the past 15 years. "Out in L.A." was performed once during the band's 2004 Roll on the Red Tour, while "Police Helicopter" and "You Always Sing the Same" were performed a few times on the 2002-03 By the Way Tour. "Green Heaven", "Police Helicopter", and "Mommy, Where's Daddy?" were performed a few times on the band's 1999-01 Californication Tour. "Grand Pappy Du Plenty" has been the most performed song from the album in the past 15 years, being a mainstay of the One Hot Minute tour. In recent years, it has been mostly used in jams and intros to other songs. "True Men Don't Kill Coyotes" was played occasionally after Sherman left including once with John Frusciante on the Mother's Milk tour in the 80s, and then teased by the band once in 2011, but the full song was not played.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "True Men Don't Kill Coyotes" | Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Cliff Martinez, Jack Sherman | 3:40 |
| 2. | "Baby Appeal" | Kiedis, Flea, Hillel Slovak, Martinez, Sherman | 3:41 |
| 3. | "Buckle Down" | Kiedis, Flea, Martinez, Sherman | 3:24 |
| 4. | "Get Up and Jump" | Kiedis, Flea, Slovak, Jack Irons | 2:53 |
| 5. | "Why Don't You Love Me" (Hank Williams cover) | Hank Williams | 3:27 |
| 6. | "Green Heaven" | Kiedis, Flea, Slovak, Irons | 3:59 |
| 7. | "Mommy, Where's Daddy?" | Kiedis, Flea, Martinez, Sherman | 3:31 |
| 8. | "Out in L.A." | Kiedis, Flea, Slovak, Irons | 2:01 |
| 9. | "Police Helicopter" | Kiedis, Flea, Slovak, Irons | 1:16 |
| 10. | "You Always Sing the Same" (listed as "You Always Sing" on some releases) | Kiedis, Flea | 0:19 |
| 11. | "Grand Pappy Du Plenty" (instrumental) | Kiedis, Flea, Martinez, Sherman, Andy Gill | 4:15 |
Total length: |
32:32 | ||
| Bonus tracks on 2003 remastered version, previously released on Out in L.A. in 1994 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 12. | "Get Up and Jump (Demo)" | Kiedis, Flea, Slovak, Irons | 2:37 |
| 13. | "Police Helicopter (Demo)" | Kiedis, Flea, Slovak, Irons | 1:12 |
| 14. | "Out in L.A. (Demo)" | Kiedis, Flea, Slovak, Irons | 1:56 |
| 15. | "Green Heaven (Demo)" | Kiedis, Flea, Slovak, Irons | 3:50 |
| 16. | "What It Is (Demo)" (also known as "Nina's Song") | Kiedis, Flea | 3:58 |
Total length: |
46:01 | ||
Personnel
- Red Hot Chili Peppers
2003 edition bonus tracks (tracks 12-16)
- Flea – bass guitar
- Anthony Kiedis – vocals
- Jack Irons – drums (tracks 12-15)
- Hillel Slovak – guitar (tracks 12-15)
- Additional musicians
- Keith Barry – horn arrangements and viola
- Cliff Brooks – timbales and congas
- Gwen Dickey – background vocals
- Patrick English – trumpet
- Kenny Flood – tenor saxophone
- Phil Ranelin – trombone
- Recording personnel
- Andy Gill – producer
- Spit Stix – producer (demos)
- Dave Jerden – engineer
- Carolyn Collins – assistant engineer
- Rob Stevens – mixing
- Barry Conley – mixing assistant
- Greg Fulginiti – mastering
- Artwork
- Gary Panter – cover art
- Edward Colver – photography
- Howard Rosenberg – photography
- Henry Marquez – art direction
2003 remastered version personnel
- Kevin Flaherty – producer for reissue
- Ron McMaster – remastering
- Kenny Nemes – project manager
- Michelle Azzopardi – art direction
- Kristine L. Barnard – design
- John Dinser – photo imaging and additional design
- Edward Colver – photography
- Howard Rosenberg – photography
- EMI Archives – photography
Notes
Kiedis, Anthony; Sloman, Larry (2004). Scar Tissue. New York: Hyperion. ISBN 1-4013-0101-0.
References
- ↑ Kiedis, Sloman, 2004 p. 145
- ↑ Allmusic Review
- ↑ Faris, Lynn (January 2007). "Not your Mother's Milk". Creative Loafing. Retrieved 2007-10-09.
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